Convicted UK pedophile demands cash for McCann questions

Pedophile Raymond Hewlett has issued demands for a slice of the Madeleine Fund in return for his answers to questions to help uncover crucial evidence in the McCanns' international appeal to seek answers in the abduction of their daughter.

Hewlett, 64, and currently recovering from throat cancer in Germany, initially refused to speak to private detectives charged with unravelling the truth behind Madeleine McCann s disappearance two years ago in Portugal.

Raymond Hewlett, from Shropshire UK, who has a lifelong history of sexually abusing underage girls, was allegedly living only an hour away from where Madeleine and her family were staying in the Algarve when the young girl of three, was abducted from their holiday rental home.

A source close to the McCanns told the Mail: 'He is actually demanding a fee to answer questions that could help the inquiry. It is truly reprehensible. There is no way anyone is going to pay him.'

Hewlett, a convicted pedophile, is wanted for questioning by West Yorkshire police in relation to an indecent assault on an eight-year old girl in 1975. Hewlett will have to speak to the police, but the McCanns' private investigators have no powers to compel him to answer their questions.

Clarence Mitchell, a spokesman for the McCanns said: 'We still need to speak to Mr Hewlett who remains a person of interest to the inquiry. We are confident that we will be able to speak to him in the near future, and we hope that he and his legal representative will see the sense in clearing his name.' He has strenuously denied having anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance.

A friend of the McCanns said: 'It has been made abundantly clear to Hewlett that he is not going to get a penny from the Madeleine Fund. It would be like asking the victims to pay. 'He is saying he wants money to look after his kids if he dies, but no one is going to touch him with a bargepole. He should be more worried about being eliminated from the inquiry. If he truly has nothing to hide, he should be happy to come out and say it. He ought to be grateful that the detectives are willing to speak to him with a view to crossing him off their list of possible suspects.'

This story follows the latest in a long string of events relating to key suspects currently being tracked by private investigators directly employed by the McCanns.

Hewlett initially refused to speak with investigators and thwarted their attempts to take his DNA. He later agreed to offers samples last week by which time they had returned to the UK empty handed.

Hewlett’s German wife, Marianna Schmuker initially supported investigators and agreed to help in all enquiries but it is reported that she had now enlisted a local lawyer on his behalf to 'negotiate' a fee for access.

Up to 38 pedophiles were said to be in the region when Madeline went missing: The McCanns' detectives are building descriptions on each of them and are understood to regard four or five of them as being particularly significant. Seven other sex attacks that were reported in the region are being followed up, the characteristics of which bear similar hallmarks to Madeleines disappearance.

Private investigators are still convinced that Maddie’s abductor lies close to the incident.

Hewlett and his family were living on a campsite in close proximity to the McCann’s apartment at the Ocean Club complex in the Algarve. He later moved the family to a camp site in Morocco where he allegedly crossed the border with out-of-date passports.